[Chris Fultz]

to quote some famous FIRST personalities:

The three most important things on a FIRST robot are:

1. Drive
2. Drive
3. Drive

Spend time getting it right and making it faster than you really think you need - you won't regret the decision.

The best way to learn is to wander around at competitions and see what other teams are doing and what works and ask them how they do it.
Also, try to go to some off season forums or the forums at the Championships.

The last bit of advice - build prototypes and experiment, but don't decide in December what drive you want to use. Wait until the game is announced, decide how you want to play the game, and then decide what drive is best for that.

For example (these are general comments only - please don't blast me),

a swerve or mechanum drive lets you get all around the field quickly, but they don't push / play defense well for the very reason they work well getting around the field.

a tank drive is quick to turn and great for pushing and defending, but not very efficient so they consume a lot of battery power

a four wheel drive is easy, but can be tough to turn with traction wheels - or easy to push around with the wheelchair wheels or other rollers

a six wheel drive is easy to turn and can be a good defensive drive, but uses a lot of weight in sprockets and chain.

Bottom line, there is no "perfect" drive and each game strategy lends itself better to one particular type. several drive types have been successful this year - it depends on how the team wants to play the game.